Westmoreland category, Page 310
Youngwood drug dealer sentenced to 8-year prison term
A Youngwood man acquitted last month of rape charges was ordered Friday to serve up to eight years in prison for a related simple assault of an 18-year-old woman and and for the possession of illegal drug offenses. Brandon Giron, 23, told a Westmoreland County judge he was ready to...
Injuries reported in Route 819 car crash
At least one person was injured in a car crash Friday evening on Route 819. The crash happened just after 7 p.m. in East Huntingdon in the area of the Route 119 exit ramp, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. State police out of Uniontown are handling the incident, the...
Bond set for Jeannette man charged in Rialto stabbing
A Westmoreland County judge ruled a Jeannette man charged with attempted homicide during a stabbing in front of the Rialto Bar and Bistro last month in downtown Greensburg can be released from jail as he awaits trial. Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani set a $250,000 straight cash bond for Anthony...
Irwin man among 3 suspects nabbed in West Mifflin drug bust
An Irwin man was among three people jailed in Allegheny County this week after drugs, guns and cash were found during a raid in West Mifflin, West Mifflin police said. Police said the illegal items confiscated were heroin, cocaine, pure fentanyl and fentanyl pills, marijuana, as well as four handguns,...
Police: Homeless man took drugs into Latrobe library
A homeless man faces charges after, police say, he took drugs and hypodermic needles into Latrobe’s Adams Memorial Library. According to police, Alexander Kimmick, 24, locked himself in the library bathroom with the drug paraphernalia on Monday. Library staff told Kimmick to leave to no avail. Kimmick continued to refuse...
Police charge Blairsville man in connection with Latrobe burglary, theft
A Blairsville man faces charges after police say he burglarized a Latrobe home and stole a laptop from it. Thursday morning, a man told police that someone entered his Spring Street home and stole his MacBook, backpack and several other items. Using security cameras, Latrobe police found that Vincent Skillings,...
Vote totals from recounted precincts certified in Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Election Board this week issued a final certification of results from five voting precincts subjected to a court-ordered recount. Voters from precincts in Salem, Hempfield, Loyalhanna, Lower Burrell and Ligonier Borough petitioned the courts to recount votes cast as part of the Nov. 8 general election for...
Proposed 2023 Penn Township budget focuses on capital projects
Penn Township commissioners will vote on a proposed 2023 budget Dec. 21 that includes a host of capital improvement construction projects. The $10.3 million spending plan does not raise any taxes or cut any services, according to township finance director Colleen Gain. Most notable in the budget, Gain said, are...
Westmoreland commissioners agree to settle 2 federal lawsuits
Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday approved payments totaling $45,000 to settle two federal lawsuits. One case involved a whistleblower lawsuit brought in 2017 by a deputy sheriff who claimed the department’s drug-sniffing dog was removed from his care as retaliation for speaking with state investigators probing suspected election law violations by...
Texas truck driver granted bail in Hempfield hit-and-run case
A Texas man was granted bail Thursday after spending two weeks behind bars in connection with a Hempfield hit and run that left a man seriously injured. District Judge Joseph DeMarchis set $100,000 bail for Quantae Beavers, 25, of Dallas. DeMarchis previously denied bail after Beavers’ Nov. 30 arrest in...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: Dec. 16-18
Christmas classics Westmoreland Performing Arts will stage these holiday shows on Friday in Science Hall Theater at Westmoreland County Community College, 145 Pavilion Lane, Hempfield: • “A Christmas Carol,” 6 p.m. WPA’s Home and Cyber School Theatre Troupe will present an adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ classic through a series...
Corporate exec pleads guilty to forging fake divorce papers to keep up affair
A North Huntingdon corporate executive pleaded guilty Thursday to forging a judge’s name on a fake court record as part of a plot police said was designed to convince his lover to continue an extramarital affair. Dennis George Durmis Jr., 50, was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform...
Westmoreland Mall seeing strong holiday turnout
It seems as if — at least this holiday season — what was old is new again at Westmoreland Mall. On a December afternoon, the mall is buzzing with happy shoppers, hungry food court patrons and cheerful Christmas tunes. Children wave to their parents from the Christmas train, a kiosk...
Greensburg OKs budget with no tax hike, expands role and salary of rec superintendent
Greensburg Council this week finalized a 2023 city budget of about $13 million without increasing taxes. City property owners will continue to pay real estate taxes totaling 27.05 mills. That amount includes 1 mill each to help support the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and to cover public safety expenses that...
Holiday carols, characters featured at Hutchinson Elementary Light-Up
More than 250 vehicles lined up Thursday evening for a spin around Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary during the school’s second annual Light-Up Night. In addition to festive lights and inflatable figures, visitors to the Southwest Greensburg school were greeted by holiday characters, Christmas music performed by school and community groups...
Westmoreland budget balanced with American Rescue Plan funds
More than $8 million in federal covid-relief funds will be used to pay annual subsidies that, in prior years, were paid for from the county’s general operating budget, Westmoreland commissioners said Thursday. The earmarking of American Rescue Plan funds to the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, Westmoreland County Community College and...
16-year-old Monessen boy charged as adult in fatal November shooting of another teen
A 16-year-old Monessen boy has been charged as an adult in the fatal shooting last month of another Monessen teen. Terry Newton is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Amari Altomore, 16, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced Thursday. Newton, who was not in custody as of...
Interstate 70 work will restrict eastbound traffic near Yukon
Eastbound traffic on Interstate 70 will be restricted to a single lane Friday near the Yukon and Madison interchanges in South Huntingdon and Sewickley townships. PennDOT officials said the restriction will be in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., depending on favorable weather. It will allow crews from Trumbull...
Appeals court overturns sexual assault convictions against former Mt. Pleasant cop
An appeals court has overturned two sexual assault convictions against a former part-time Mt. Pleasant police officer, saying the cases were prosecuted in the wrong county. A three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled allegations levied by two women who claimed they were sexually assaulted by John Brown, 49,...
Wreaths to be placed on graves of about 4,600 veterans at area cemeteries
Veterans buried in 10 cemeteries in Hempfield, Irwin, North Huntingdon and Penn Township will be honored Saturday with wreaths on their graves as part of a national program. Volunteers with the North Huntingdon Chapter of Wreaths Across America will lay 2,880 wreaths on the graves of veterans buried in Union...
Greensburg Y invites families to ‘Merry and Bright’ holiday fun night
The latest in a series of Family Fun Nights at the Greensburg YMCA will include holiday-themed activities. “Merry and Bright” is the theme of the event, from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, which will feature a visit from Santa. Kids who attend also will have an opportunity to create their...
Ohio truck driver pleads guilty to causing fatal crash on Interstate 70
Sheila Walton dabbed tears from her eyes as she told a Westmoreland County judge that the Ohio truck driver who initiated a fatal rear-end collision two years ago on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon changed her family forever. Walton’s 27-year-old son, Dillon Walton of New Stanton, was killed as he...
Greensburg man’s rape sentence reduced
A Greensburg man convicted earlier this year for his role in the rape of a 5-year-old boy had his 168-year prison sentenced reduced on this week. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani overturned one of 22 convictions against Charles Jason Hunter, 36. Defense attorneys claimed prosecutors mislabeled one...
Donations down as Salvation Army kettle drive nears final stretch before Christmas
Todd Harris’ well-wishing bellows and bell ringing can be heard throughout a Hempfield parking lot when he’s on duty. The Greensburg man is dedicated to volunteering for The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, ringing a bell so much during his shifts that he hears it in his sleep. He is...
Man arrested after Jeannette flashlight attack
A city man who Jeannette police said attacked another man with a flashlight this week turned himself in Thursday. Authorities had sought information on his whereabouts after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The wounded man was taken to a hospital for numerous face and head injuries, police said....
